We are going to need to continue to look at all of the ice sheet to see how its changing, and we are going to need to continue to work on some tough details to understand how individual glaciers change, said Twila Moon, a University of Washington doctoral student in earth and space sciences and lead author of the study.

Located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, the worlds largest island may actually conceal three separate island land masses that have been bridged by glaciers. The Greenland ice sheet covers an area of about 677,855 square miles (1,755,637 square kilometers). Only the extreme north of the island, called Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet because the air there is too dry to produce snow.

The loss of ice from Greenland’s huge ice cap is one of the biggest contributors to rising sea levels, only rivaled by Antarctica (Global Adventures reported here). In the new study, scientists did record changes in Greenland outlet glaciers by producing velocity maps using satellite data. They started with the winter of 2000-01 and then repeated the process for each winter from 2005-06 through 2010-11. They found that the outlet glaciers had not increased in velocity as much as had been speculated.

The faster the glaciers move, the more ice and melt water they release into the ocean. In a previous study, scientists trying to understand the contribution of melting ice to rising sea level in a warming world considered a scenario in which the Greenland glaciers would double their velocity between 2000 and 2010 and then stabilize at the higher speed, and another scenario in which the speeds would increase tenfold and then stabilize.

At the rate observed, Greenland ice would contribute about four inches (10.16 centimeters) to rising sea level by 2100 and at the higher rate the contribution would be nearly 19 inches (48.26 centimeters) by the end of this century. But the researchers who conducted that study had little precise data available for how major ice regions, primarily in Greenland and Antarctica, were behaving in the face of climate change.

In some sense, this raises as many questions as it answers. It shows theres a lot of variability, said Ian Joughin, a glaciologist in the UWs Applied Physics Laboratory and coauthor of the paper.

The 1970 picture shows icebergs at Scoresby Sound in eastern Greenland. Photo: Public Domain

The former is a semi-autobiographical game following the life story of Jay-Z, from poor kid in the projects to successful rapper to wealthy mogul with a wide array of profitable investments. The latter is a book and movie tie-in, bringing a dystopic future out from the pages of YA literature and out onto the screen. One is about creating an empire; the other is about tearing one down. And yet, despite their stated differences, the two play out in extraordinarily similar ways.

Its not just a matter of mechanics, though those are interchangeable. Both games operate on the familiar-to-Facebook premise that you spend a certain amount of energy to execute each action you take, and surprise energy replenishment can be purchased for a nominal fee if you dont feel like waiting for it to regenerate. Both give you sequential missions to move through the story, with each mission involving a certain number of turns talking to NPCs and completing fetch quests. Both offer an array of character customizations, available either through earned in-game currency or via real-cash Facebook credits.

On top of the microtransaction-friendly mechanics, in each game, lies the skin of a story. One takes place in a primarily black, poor neighborhood of Brooklyn. The other takes place in a heavily white, rural, Appalachian-inspired future. The two environments are as disparate as possible and yet in many ways, present exactly the same challenge: daily survival, and a rise beyond it, as a member of an underprivileged class.

Sadly, however, the most glaring similarity between the two games is this: they are terrible at telling their stories.

Neither Empire nor The Hunger Games Adventures can put the player character into a compelling position. We are not Jay-Z; we are not Katniss Everdeen. We are not the singular hero on whom the story is modeled, and we can never climb our way to a satisfying climax. We are a side character, modeled after our own real-world person and clumsily inserted into someone elses story.

Games on Facebook are, by necessity, always about you. They are about your avatar, and more importantly they are about your purchases, your score, your accumulated items, your achievements, and your friends. And, in order to succeed, the game needs the player to be exploiting that very self.

They need you to be you. They need you to be telling your friends. They need you posting to your wall, bringing in new blood, and wanting upgrades. They need to you to want to come back, to feel comfortable, to feel participatory.

But the best and most challenging art, art that would make a player truly aware of how socioeconomic factors and race truly influenced Shawn Carters life, isnt comfortable. A meaningful story about Katnisss complex relationship to violence and survival isnt something you can easily level up and share in incremental stages with your buddies.

The games that tell stories about a single character, by necessity and by definition, focus on a single character. The Hunger Games, as books and as a film, draw our attention because we follow Katniss and the people that matter to her. The real-life biography of Jay-Z is interesting because of his unlikely rise to a position of fame and fortune. Dropping us into a world in the role of nameless sidekick could be interesting if the games were about the worlds, but they arent. Both Empire and The Hunger Games Adventures are built and sold on the premise of following in an icons pre-established footsteps.

There are ways that a game could tell a compelling, meaningful story about the world in which The Hunger Games takes place, but Facebook isnt it. A modular, fragmented social experience designed to keep drawing in more players over time isnt it.

Our narrative game franchises, the games that tell the deepest, richest stories, dont always succeed as well as theyd like. But an Assassins Creed, Uncharted, or Mass Effect still puts us in control of the most interesting character on the screen, the character whose story the game is designed to tell. And in many ways, we give ourselves over to the character as we play. If Commander Shepard visited Ilos, I visited Ilos. If Ezio explored Constantinople, I explored Constantinople. If Nathan Drake mowed down a hundred mooks today, I mowed down a hundred mooks today.

But on Facebook, we never truly inhabit another skin; we never look into another soul. We pile clothes and colors on top of ourselves and play dress-up for a while, with no true hard work required. The games arent terrible because theyre browser-based or low-tech; plenty of successful games are technically undemanding. Theyre terrible because in the midst of the most personalized, self-centered corner of the world we inhabit, we are nominally pretending to be someone else. Thats just not a combination that works.

Colin McEvoy | The Express-Times

The Express-Times

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No, the Accent isnt as swoopy as the Sonata or even the Elantra. But its lines are crisp and give the car some flair. I drove a sparkling marathon blue 4-door GLS for the week and found it a great value.

Heres why.

First, it doesnt cost you much to get into an Accent. Base price on the 4-door is $12,545 and for that you get the same 1.6-liter fuel-efficient direct-injected 4-cylinder all aluminum engine as all Accents. It delivers 138 horsepower, so theres plenty of power for a light, 2,463 pound car.

Accent will easily get onto the highway and up to speed, quicker and with less grumble than several other small cars and SUVs Ive recently driven. That base car gives you a 6-speed manual transmission, which will save you a little gas too. The test car added a 6-speed automatic for $2,650.

The Accent includes Shiftronic automatic, which means you can shift manually. I did a few times and its simple. But the automatic functions well and uses the cars power efficiently. Shifts are barely noticeable.

The EPA says to expect 30 mpg city and 40 highway from this engine and transmission combination, which is impressive. I got 31.3 mpg in about 60% highway driving.

Handling is good. Accent feels light and easy to handle. The sedan turns well and feels relatively well planted, even in wet weather. In normal driving it borders on fun, but the variable-assist power steering, which firms up as the cars speed increases, doesnt deliver a great road feel. Yet its better than some small cars, including other Hyundai models.

Accent rides on a 101.2 inch wheelbase, which gets a tad choppy over really rough area streets. But generally its well controlled and easily as comfortable a ride as some pricier small cars. There were no severe jolts even on the worst roads.

Braking comes from vented front disc brakes and solid rear discs. ABS is standard, as are traction and stability control.

On the base GLS sedan only 14-inch tires are standard. But the test car added a Premium option package that ups that to 16-inchers and alloy wheels. This certainly helps improve the ride and handling.

Also in that package, which goes for just $1,300, is a keyless remote, fancier steering wheel with cruise control and radio buttons on the hub, along with Bluetooth hands-free phone system. The cloth seats are upgraded and other interior accents are improved along with a sunglasses holder overhead and a fancier storage box/armrest between the seats. Fog lights also come with the package, which pushed the test car up price to $16,625, along with carpeted floor mats and an iPod cable.

All that is enough, coupled with the simple yet stylish layout of the dash and interior, to make Accent feel much more refined inside than youd expect at this price. Even the interior is moderately quiet, something you also may not expect until youre paying at least $20,000.

Accents dash was a dark over light gray with matte silver accents on the dash and doors along with black accents around the center stack, with yet additional tasteful matte silver trim. Seats were gray cloth, but with a woven pattern on the seat back and bottom. None of this looks cheap.

Accents interior is roomy too, with loads of headroom, so four adults will fit comfortably. Theres a large (for this sized car) 14.0 cubic foot trunk, so plenty of room for cargo. The rear seats also split and fold down.

Seats are firm and mildly contoured. I found them comfortable, although its possible that hardness level could prove tiring on a long haul. Seats are manual, but the drivers seat has a pump handle to raise and lower its height.

The dash is well laid out with the main gauges easy to see through the tilt-only steering wheel that features radio, phone and cruise control buttons.

Hyundais center stack is both stylish and simple to see and use with vents at the top and a small radio/clock screen that glows blue below the vents. All buttons and dials are easy to use, and there are two large and one medium dial for the climate controls. Satellite radio is standard for 90 days, as with most cars now, and the Accent is MP3 and iPod ready.

Not many cars can be purchased for $12,500 to $16,000. But this one is worthy of a look if you, or another member of the family, need good comfortable basic transportation. The Accent GS 5-door starts at $14,695 and the top-end SE at $15,895. The sedan is available only in the GLS trim.

Mark Savage welcomes your questions and comments regarding new vehicles at Savageonwheels@yahoo.com.

Forget for a few minutes about your urge to make the absolute smartest fiscal choice. Yes, the economics of diesel ownership often take many, many years to work out as positive. Yes, diesels, as in the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI, do generally cost thousands more initially; and yes, diesel fuel across the US costs more than gasoline.

Now let that go–after all, if you were going for the lowest costs, you probably wouldnt be looking at a more fashionable vehicle like the Beetle. That hurdle dismissed, wed surely pick VWs TDI version of the latest Beetle over the base car–and probably over the Beetle Turbo we just drove a few weeks ago.

If there was one engine that best fit the character of the first-generation (New) Beetle, it was the TDI diesel four that was offered in the New Beetle through the 2006 model year. Unlike the original base gasoline four- or five-cylinder engines in the Beetle, it had a relaxed, torquey character, a relatively narrow rev range, and just a bit of mechanical noise to both remind us of the original air-cooled Beetles and be satisfying on its own.

The 2013 Beetle TDI, which wont be out until later this summer, will get the latest version of VWs 2.0-liter turbo-diesel four-cylinder, making 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. And like the 2.0T gasoline engine, it will be hooked up to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed DSG (dual-clutch) automated manual gearbox (not the five-speed manual or conventional automatic of the base five-cylinder Beetle models). In recent years, in Jetta, Golf, Passat, and even the Audi A3, weve found this engine to be both a perky performer and almost incredibly economical.

So its not surprising that in the 2013 Beetle the engine delivers a tremendously strong kick of torque, from standstill, along with a turbine-like whoosh of passing power, most of the time without the need even to downshift, at highway speeds. Plus, as we experienced on some two-lane stretches around Half Moon Bay, California, the TDI takes well to being revved and driven hard in the same way as you would a gasoline engine if the spirit strikes you.

Handling feels about the same as that of the Beetle Turbo wed recently driven (if a slight bit heavier in front), with rather quick-ratio steering and a light feel, as well as much crisper response than we ever expected from the former New Beetle. Part of the appeal of this package is that when youre not in the mood to downshift, you can simply let that wave of torque take you confidently out of one corner and on to the next. Ride quality was great; theres really no shudder at idle or excessive noise when you rev it; and interior appointments were as weve described for the 2012 VW Beetle models that are otherwise out at dealerships now.

Economical operation is of course part of that story, as much as were trying not to make it the only story here. EPA ratings for the latest Beetle TDI ring in at 29 mpg city, 39 highway. While those city ratings are about what youll see in shorter trips or urban commutes, we have a long history of seeing much higher real-world highway results in TDI models compared to their EPA ratings–so dont think 45 mpg is out of the question. In about 30 miles of some of the hardest, worst-case-scenario driving the TDI might encounter, we averaged about 25 mpg

Interestingly, while we drove the 2013 Beetle TDI, we dont yet have a price for it. VW officials confirmed that we can expect the TDI to fit into the lineup in the same way it did when it was last sold in the US, and in the same way its positioned in some of VWs current model lines (above the base engine, but just below the turbo)–so count starting prices in the low to mid twenties.

The study comes on the heels of a 2011 survey conducted on behalf of the Canned Food Alliance (CFA) that found US consumers underestimate the benefits of canned foods. In fact, nearly 40% of consumers surveyed said they think canned foods are less nutritious than frozen, and nearly 60% of those survey said they are not as nutritious as fresh foods.

For this study, researchers from Ketchum Global Health and Wellness conducted a market-basket study funded by CFA comparing the cost of obtaining key nutrients from canned, fresh, frozen and dried varieties of common foods. The market-basket study involved buying, preparing and analyzing canned, fresh, frozen and dried (where available) corn, green snap beans, mushrooms, peas, pumpkin, spinach, tomatoes, pears, peaches, pinto beans and tuna fish. The foods were cooked so that an accurate comparison could be made. All varieties purchased were with no added salt or sugar when available.

The foods were analyzed to determine the cost of several key nutrients, including protein, fiber, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C and folate. The nutrient content was obtained from the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory, Standard Release 24. The nutrients selected for comparison were included because they are either “nutrients of concern for children, adolescents and adults and/or are those commonly found in the foods.

Findings for pinto beans, tomatoes, corn and spinach were particularly interesting:

• Canned pinto beans cost $1 less per serving as a source of protein and fiber than dried beans because it takes about 6 minutes to prepare a can of pinto beans compared to 2½ hours (soaking and cooking) for dried beans to be meal-ready.
• It is nearly 60% more expensive to obtain dietary fiber from fresh tomatoes as from the same portion of canned tomatoes. Not only is the price of canned tomatoes lower than fresh for the same serving size, but fresh tomatoes take longer to prepare, adding to the real cost of fresh.
• When looking at purchase price alone, fresh corn is less expensive than canned or frozen. However, when the cost of waste (most notably the cob) is factored in, as well as time to prepare, canned corn offers the same amount of dietary fiber as fresh at a 25% savings.
• With a lower cost-per-serving than fresh or frozen, canned spinach provides vitamin C at an 85% savings when compared to fresh or frozen.

“With economic concerns at the forefront today, households are challenged to meet dietary recommendations within budgetary constraints, the researchers said. “This research should assure families they are getting needed nutrition regardless of whether they choose canned, fresh, frozen or dried varieties. They can be confident in buying those foods that best meet their budgets, schedules, cooking abilities and taste preferences and still obtain important nutrients.

SINGAPORE, May 4 (Bernama) — Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang says the London Metal Exchange (LME), the worlds biggest marketplace for industrial metals, has taken advantage of Singapores strengths to grow its activities in the region.

As the focus of metals trading shifts increasingly towards Asia, I am pleased to note that LME Asias headquarters in Singapore will design and run customised training programmes to meet specific needs in the region.

Such activities will help to strengthen LMEs industry position, and will also help Singapore to be more attuned to regional demand trends, he said in his address at LME Asia dinner, the first held outside the UK, here tonight.

In February last year, the Singapore Exchange, in partnership with the LME, launched small-size, cash-settled metal futures.

Lim said since the establishment of 135-year-old LMEs presence here 25 years ago, the metal trading sector in Singapore had grown significantly.

Today, he said Singapore captured 10 per cent of global market share of the trade for aluminium and copper intermediates.

Many more companies in this space have come to Singapore. Today, we have 26 companies, representing the most important global players in this market, he said.

Besides the trading companies, Lim said:We have worked with many government agencies to encourage the growth of activities that support commodity trading. These include producers, logistics providers, brokers, traders, financial institutions and insurers.

Coupled with Singapores network of Investment Guarantee Agreements (IGAs) and Double Tax Avoidance Agreements (DTAs), more Metals Minerals (MM) companies use Singapore as an investment platform to venture into developing markets such as Indonesia and the Middle East.

He said they have also tapped on our strong trading infrastructure for exploration, project origination and have also listed out of Singapore.

Lim noted that aluminium and copper trade continued to contribute the strongest flows, arising from booming demand for industrial materials from fast-growing Asian countries.

This is expected to continue despite todays volatile global economic environment. Some companies have even estimated that the worlds demand for commodities, including base metals, will double over the next 15 to 20 years, he said.

He added that Singapore has made it a priority to grow a healthy, vibrant trading ecosystem in the republic.

International Enterprise Singapore, the government agency that promotes international trade, has actively pursued opportunities to bring more trading companies and trading activities here, to build a community that is both deep and broad.

These efforts have helped our trade sector to grow tremendously in the last 20 years. We started out developing the energy trading cluster, followed by agri-commodities and most recently, MM.

MM players in Singapore not only include steel stockists and base metals players, but also precious metals players.

— BERNAMA

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Women Want Small Economical, Men want Fast and Furious Cars

We have all heard the saying the need for speed and it seems when it comes to cars the classification between men and women are clear. The guys are looking at vehicles which are big, stand out and of course are fast. But, the ladies are looking at small imports that are fuel efficient and economical.

Many brands are looking at the models they have and are making changes that will appeal to both genders. The Volkswagen Beetle is a perfect example of the change that is being seen. In 2011, the VW came out with a new model that appealed to the guys as well as the gals and it was no longer a female car.

The mini car seems to be more popular with the ladies as well. Other brands that are great with the women are Mitsubishi, Honda, Kia and Nissan. Chrysler also makes the grade when it comes to female buyers as well while GMC has 73.5% of their purchases by the guys.

It appears that when it comes to fuel efficient the ladies are out shopping and when you are thinking of fast, flashy and eye catching you are going to be looking at the guys. One of the most popular cars for guys is the Porsche 911. The Ford F Series, Chevy Corvette and the Chevy Silverado are close to follow. For the ladies the Volvo S40 ranked the highest and the VW Beetle and Hyundai Tucson followed suit along with the Nissan Rogue.

Short URL: http://ewireinformer.com/?p=4140

Aw yeah! One of the biggest Xbox Live Arcade blockbusters ever is finally making its way to PC via Steam! I know youve all been waiting for this moment. The Adventures of Shuggy shot to the top of the charts on Xbox Live when it launched last June, and the Steam debut is expected to be the gaming event of the year!

Ok, maybe not. The Adventures of Shuggy is a local co-op game which we really enjoyed. Apparently we were the only ones. Is this another case of indie developers becoming frustrated by the Xbox Live Arcade? Yes. Yes it is. From the developer, Smudged Cat Games press release:

The Adventures of Shuggy was released on XBLA in June of last year to be largely ignored by everyone, but now were trying again,… on Steam. Yes, thats right, despite being an excellent slice of retro-styled 2D puzzle-platforming goodness with a cracking variety of different mechanics and ingenious puzzles hardly anyone bought the game.

It appears they were less than satisfied with the Arcade experience. We really enjoyed The Adventures of Shuggy, giving the puzzle game a 4 out of 5 in our Co-Op Review. If you have a 360 you can try out a trial version of the game for zero, thats right, zero MSP. Check out the adorable launch trailer.

The Adventures of Shuggysupports two player local co-op. You can pick it up right now for 800 MSP($10) or wait until it comes to Steam. Or you can wait until theres a Steam sale and pick it up for next to nothing.